Forest
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Spoilers up to "New York City Serenade". Regina doesn't like Robin and the feeling is mutual. Snow wants her stepmother to be happy and keeps leaving them alone together.


**I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Not a huge fan of the thief, Regina tried her best to avoid Robin and repeatedly failed. Snow didn't help matters much by repeatedly leaving the two of them alone so they could talk. She finally confronted her stepdaughter about it after a few weeks. "What are you doing?"

Snow tried her best to look innocent. "Nothing. What are you talking about?"

She scoffed. "Don't play games with me. You're purposely leaving me alone with the thief!"

Snow shrugged. "I think he'd be good for you."

"The queen and a thief? I don't think so. And why do you want to set me up with that man anyway?" Regina was confused.

"Because we're missing Henry – and Emma too – and you should have something good in your life while we deal with whatever this threat is. You shouldn't be wallowing in self-pity!" Snow hoped Regina was buying it. She and David missed the hell out of their daughter and grandson and were trying to make sure that Regina didn't fall apart. She was important to them, even after that everything happened between everybody.

Regina eyed her warily and suspiciously. "It's not going to happen so just give up already," she ordered.

"Okay, I promise I will," Snow lied. She smiled and then skipped ahead to go find her husband to talk to him. They had an important matter to discuss.

Regina stumbled across a crying Roland a few hours later in the woods, well away from anybody else. She kneeled down so she was at eye level with the little boy. "What's wrong?"

"I can't find Papa!" he wailed, the sobs making his chest hiccup.

"I'm sorry. I'll take you to him. You okay with that?" Regina was glad he hadn't been taken by those flying monkeys or anything else lurking in the woods.

He nodded. "Yes please, Miss Regina."

She smiled and grabbed his hand. "Let's go then." They made their way back to camp and she rushed to find Robin Hood.

Robin visibly sagged in relief as soon as the two of them came into sight. "Where were you?" he asked his son.

"I found him a few miles back – he was lost. Nothing had him," Regina explained as he pulled his son in for a tight hug.

Robin sent Roland over to one of the merry men and stood up. "Thank you for finding him and bringing him back."

She waved it off. "No problem. I didn't want him getting hurt. And I know if it was my son…," she trailed off, unable to complete the sentence. She'd never see Henry again, and it still hurt. But Regina had to live with it and she'd try her best to move on.

"Just accept my thanks and we'll both move on." Robin didn't look angry, but he was amused by the situation. And he felt horribly that Regina couldn't see her son again.

"Good idea." Regina walked away and went to go talk with Tink – the fairy had some important information for her.

Snow kept finding more and more excuses to leave Regina and Robin alone. "That girl is very determined," a laughing Robin said.

She shrugged. "I'm going to have a talk with her later – she needs to stop this."

"Eh, she has your best interests at heart. Cannot fault for her that."

And then they were interrupted by Roland. "Come play with me," he begged Regina.

The surprised queen stared at him for a few seconds. "You want me to play with you?" She certainly hadn't expected that.

Roland nodded. "Please?"

And she melted – who could resist those eyes? "Let's go play then. What do you want to play?" Regina asked. She hoped it was something Henry liked to do back in Storybrooke. And fuck, she needed to stop thinking about that – it hurt too much. Fortunately, Roland had invited her to a rousing game of tag with Pinocchio and some of the other children. Red had been roped into too, so at least Regina wasn't the only adult playing. They played for hours, and Regina actually had fun.

Upon finding out that Robin was her true love, Regina started avoiding him like the plague after that. She refused to do anything about the situation and remained stubborn. "You're being an idiot. You deserve to be happy!" the pregnant Snow angrily told her.

"We're in the middle of a ruined Enchanted Forest, dealing with a wicked bitch and her flying monkeys, and don't have time to deal with something as silly as love." The truth was that Regina was terrified. She didn't want to get hurt again. And she was already attached to Roland, something she knew shouldn't happen.

Snow rolled her eyes. "You're giving up on love, and that shouldn't be something you do. Try being friends with him first. Get to know Robin better. Try, please?"

Regina sighed. "Fine. You're annoyingly persuasive, you know that?"

"Yes, I do." Snow grinned and then walked away to eat dinner with Red, Granny, and David.

Regina headed over to see Robin and sat down next to him. "What are you doing over here?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just wanted to see what you were up to," she lied.

Robin didn't buy that for a second, but he didn't question it. "I sent Mulan and some of the others out for food. They will hopefully be back soon."

"That's good." Regina could handle friendship. She was absolutely sure of that (okay, maybe not, but she could lie to herself).

Regina and Robin's friendship started slow, but they enjoyed each other's company. She continued to play with Roland and resolved not to make him pay for any issues that cropped up between her and his father. "You should be with Daddy."

Regina did a double take. "Have you talked to Miss Snow at all recently?"

Roland looked confused. "No."

"Right, sorry. Anyway, let's get back to our game." Regina smiled at him and ruffled the little boy's hair, ignoring his squealing protests.

And then one day, something just changed between Regina and Robin. She was talking to him about the plans for an attack on the Wicked Witch, and then he kissed her. "Wow," he murmured when they pulled apart.

"What was that for?" Regina was shocked, but she had liked it. She was disgusted with herself.

"I wanted to. And I think you feel the exact same way."

She scoffed. "I don't think." She turned to walk away, but stopped. "How long have you felt this way?"

"For a while. I believe we could be great together." Robin hadn't wanted to fall in love with the high maintenance, formerly evil queen, but he had anyway.

Regina shook her head, fear suddenly overtaking her. "We can't be together, Robin. You smell like forest and I'm a formerly evil queen. You don't know everything that I've done, what can't be taken back. You don't want to be with me."

"Don't presume to tell me what I want. And I smell like forest? You smell like forest! You've been here for months!"

Ugh, Regina hoped she didn't smell like forest. God, she missed Storybrooke. "I can't do this. I'm sorry." With tears in her eyes, she bolted away from him and headed back to the area she shared with the others. Snow watched her, deeply worried.

Two days later, she finally had enough and forced Regina and Robin to talk. "You two are adults who clearly have feelings for each other. Don't let fear ruin your lives – I almost let it happen to Charming and I, and I refuse to let it happen with you." Snow smiled triumphantly and walked away.

"You heard her," an amused Robin commented.

"She can be annoying like that sometimes." Regina itched to get away, but she was going to be an adult about this, per Snow's wishes.

"Regina, I believe I am falling in love with you. We shouldn't resist this. It's not fair to either of us."

Regina wasn't about to tell Robin that he was her true love, although it probably would scare him away. But she was stuck on something he had said. "You're falling in love with me?"

He nodded. "Yes, I am. And how about you?"

And that's what she had been trying to avoid for weeks. Regina took a deep breath before diving in. "I'm falling in love with you too."

Robin grinned from ear to ear and grabbed her face for a kiss. "That's wonderful news."

Roland was thrilled when he heard the news, and informed everybody in sight about the big change in his life. Snow squealed and hugged her stepmother, and she actually hugged back.

Regina and Robin's relationship started out strong, even with numerous attacks orchestrated by the Wicked Witch. She finally confessed he was her true love a few weeks later. "I was scared to tell you. That kind of shit makes me feel vulnerable."

"I'm happy you felt comfortable enough to tell me. And it makes sense. The thief and the evil queen. True love at its finest." Robin wrapped his arms around her waist and she leaned into him.

Unfortunately, they were soon deposited back in Storybrooke and all their memories – including those of their relationship together – were erased. Robin and Regina's, and tragically, Regina and Roland's, memories of each other were gone. They didn't know anything about their history as a couple. But the Wicked Witch wouldn't win – Emma would make sure of that as soon as she could figure out who was causing trouble in town. She wasn't going to have an easy time of it. And maybe fate would push Regina and Robin together again, but no one could be sure of that.


End file.
